China

Kim Yi Dionne is Five College Assistant Professor of Government at Smith College. She studies identity, public opinion, political behavior, and policy aimed at improving the human condition, with a focus on African countries.

Key findings

On average across 36 African countries, China is the second-most-popular model for national development (cited by 24% of respondents), trailing only the United States of America (30%). About one in 10 respondents prefer their former colonial power (13%) or South Africa (11%) as a model.

Strategic collaboration with Africa has become a priority in the global North, East, and West. Powers that once saw the African continent primarily as a source of raw materials now focus on “partnership” and “development,” following the lead of the U.S. African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA) in highlighting mutual benefits of investment and trade. .

Tunisians look up to China, the world’s largest economy, as a model for the future development of their country but consider it far less influential in Tunisia than France and the United States, according to Afrobarometer survey results.

Public perceptions are divided as to whether China’s economic and political influence on Tunisia is positive or negative. As for China’s economic development assistance, a plurality (47%) of Tunisians say it helps meet the country’s needs, while about half as many (19%) disagree.

Just over half of Zimbabweans think that China has the most influence on Zimbabwe compared to that of other countries and international organisations. Nearly half also feel that China’s economic and political influence on Zimbabwe is mostly positive. However, only a fifth regard its development model as the best”.

China has a greater influence on Tanzania than any other country and is a preferred model for Tanzania’s future development, the latest Afrobarometer survey suggests.

Tanzanians see China’s economic and political influence on Tanzania as mostly positive, the survey shows. But only about half of Tanzanians say that Chinese assistance does “somewhat of a good job” or “a very good” of meeting Tanzania’s needs.

Malawians wish the future development of their country to be modelled after that of South Africa, compared to alternative models of other countries like the USA, China and Britain according to the most recent Afrobarometer survey.

In related results, Malawians are divided on whether China’s economic development assistance does a good job in meeting development needs of the country. Economic, rather than political, factors matter most in shaping Malawians’ perception of China according to the survey—which was conducted in March and April 2014.

China ’s recent political and economic inroads into Africa have generated much excitement in the current literature, with scholars and policymakers endeavoring to assess the merits and risks implicit in this renewed engagement. Absent from the literature, however, are systematic analyses of African perceptions of the rapidly growing China-Africa links and their underlying determinants. This article fills this void by examining indeed not only African attitudes towards China ’s African presence, but deciphering the very considerations informing these views.

South Africa ranks highest among models for Malawi’s future development, according to Malawians’ perceptions of international relations expressed in a recent Afrobarometer survey. The United States is the second-most-popular model and is regarded as the most influential country in Malawi.